Today's Times of London reports that if you're looking for love online you've got to choose your screen name carefully. According to study by Dr. Monica Whitty, a lecturer in cyber-psychology at Nottingham Trent University, playful and flirtatious names like "fun2bwith" or "imsweet" were ranked top by men and women as those they would most like to contact. Close behind were names that were physically descriptive, like "cutie" or "blueeyes." Less appealing? Money-grubbing names like "wealthyandwise," "lovemyporsche" amd "entrepreneur." "We know from other research that women are generally attracted by wealth, but it seems they are well aware people embellish themselves online and it makes them suspicious," Dr. Whitty says. As we all know, dating isn't the only place one uses a screen name: Monikers are also used for IMing and to comment on blogs. Ahem.

Is there anything weirder than meeting someone you think you like and then finding out their IM name is "mansondude13"? Or "diztieblondie"? What about when a commenter on a blog has a screen name like "manhattangrrl" but lives in Ohio? What is the ideal screen name? Something simple? Straightforward? Meaningful? Witty? Descriptive? How do you choose? And, knowing that those few letters represent you — what do you think your screen name says about you?